Reflections
Initial Reflection
As a teacher, my strengths are patience and adaptability. My biggest weakness is leniency. My biggest strength as a student is persistence. My biggest weakness is procrastination. I feel most confident about commanding a classroom, but most nervous about ensuring my students fully comprehend the information. My SMART goal is to complete all my lesson plans on time, comprehend the material to the best of my ability, and to feel comfortable teaching the lessons of earth science by the end of this semester. If this were a graded class, I would expect to get an A, and to put in about 15 hours a week working on material. I would struggle a bit, but I would manage to get the work done along with my other work, including volunteering and paid work. My thoughts going into the semester are excitement about the material. I'm looking forward to understanding the material at a high enough level to teach.
Midterm Reflection
I think I haven't done a very good job of exhibiting my strengths so far in class. My strengths come in understanding material and participating in class discussion. I am the weakest in attendance. An unfortunate incident (although no excuse) has caused me to fall behind and miss class as well as fall behind in assignments. I am working hard to catch up and succeed in this class, but I am lacking time management and completion of materials assigned.
Looking back at the goals I have set for myself, I have not completed them. I am not present in class and my mind has been focused on other matters. I have only been able to spend a couple hours per week on this class, not the 15 I had planned for. The progress I have made in this class has not been sufficient. I would give myself the letter grade of D. I have done just enough to maybe pass, but in no way has my work so far proven my ability. I am planning to change everything about my study methods. I am going to put more time into this class than my other matters, and will prioritize the work I have to make up. I will get into contact with the professor in order to create a plan to move forward. I am refocusing and excited to move forward with this class.
I feel more comfortable than I did at the beginning of the class teaching earth science. After teaching one lesson in front of the class, I have a better grasp of what children will understand. I was thinking about the material at too high of a level, and needed to understand how to simplify the material for elementary grade levels. Understanding the basics and details of the material at a college level however, allows me to answer questions my future students might have, as well as create lessons for all types of learning styles.
I feel that my e-portfolio needs work. I need to add more lesson plans, and possibly projects or activities to do at home so students can continue their learning. I am looking forward to spending time adding information about myself as well as the material.
The class is going great. The days that I have been able to attend I learn things I never thought about before. The connections between all concepts in earth science was overwhelming at first, but eventually became manageable. As soon as I finish catching up, I look forward to succeeding.
I was present for about 65% of the classes. I would say that when I was present in class, I was about 95% actively participating. There were moments where I would get distracted but for the most part I was able to stay focused (Especially with the 15 min brain breaks.) I studied for this class about 5- 6 hours a week. During the semester, I interacted with Dr. Cooper about once per class in which I was present. I asked many questions about my work and how I could catch up, because I did miss so much class. If I wasn't so engaged during the times in which I was present, I would not have learned as much as I did. I stayed in contact with Dr. Cooper regarding my work, so I was able to understand the lessons I missed, and she gave me resources to catch up outside of class.
Out of the 13 practice work assignments, I recieved a complete on 10. 2 I did not attempt because I was absent and missed the lab. 1 I attempted but never completed the rework and I did not resubmit it. Out of the 11 I submitted, only 1 was marked late. The participation in the assignments defintely helped my knowledge. Being able to refer back to that work in order to help with presentations or lesson plans was extremely helpful.
I got the url created and submitted for my e-portfolio within the first week. I submitted and recieved feedback on the reflections and the intitial set up of the e-portfolio. I completed about 1/4th of the objectives within the last three weeks. I believe that if I had finsihed my entire e-portfolio and given myself the last three weeks to tweak and recieve feedback, my e-portfolio would have been spectacular. However, I think I did a pretty good job completing the objectives. I do agree that the ones that I completed in the last three weeks were lower quality than those I had ample time to work on.
I am most proud of learning about atmospheric circulation. It's a little embarrassing to admit but I have never actually understood why rotations differed depending on the hemisphere you were in. It was mind-blowing to learn about why high/low pressure systems occur and how they affect the weather. It always seemed like a system that just occurred, but to learn the science of why these systems exist and understand it fully is what I am most proud of. I would change my attendance. I wish I was able to attend class more often this semester, so I'd be able to fully engage in all the lessons. I would give myself a B-. I believe I know the science and the objectives of the class, but I acknowledge that my attendance should impact my grade, since I missed lessons and labs. I think a B- would be similar to what Dr. Cooper would grade me, or at least close to what I would recieve. I think she has seen my work and my focus during class, but she also sees when I am not present in class. I think she would give me a B- or C+.
I am pretty proud of myself. Life threw me some interesting obstacles this year, and I am proud to have completed this semester, and this class in particular. I now have a wesbite, with lesson plans and resources. I believe I have become more professional and mature through the work given in this class. I only wish my transportation issues didn't affect my attendance as much as it did.